148 BRITISH HUSBANDRY. [Ch. X. 



not been sufficiently drained ; and it lias thus become necessary to break 

 up the land, in order to re-sow it with Lent corn. This, however, should 

 not be hastily done ; for after a few days of warm weather, the plants are 

 frequently seen to shoot forth, and tiller with great luxuriance. Spring- 

 wheat has also been dibbled among the crops, and both species liave 

 ripened at nearly the same time, with such little difference in the quality, 

 as to render the plan advisable. 



Strong adhesive clays also frequently become hide-bound after a wet 

 winter ; in which case many farmers resort to the practice of harrow- 

 ing the ground in spring, in order to loosen the surface, and others in- 

 variably resort to it when the crops are thin, with a view to encourage them 

 to shoot out and fill up the vacancies : it has, however, been objected 

 to by some intelligent men, as occasioning mildew*, and others would 

 dread the destruction of their crops by the tearing up the roots of the 

 plants. The practice is therefore by no means general in this country, 

 and evidently can only be carried into execution with propriety on land 

 which has been sown broad-cast ; but, throughout many parts of Germany 

 and Poland — with which countries the writer of this is intimately ac- 

 quainted, and in which he had during three years the occasional manage- 

 ment, though only as an amateur, of a fine arable farm, consisting of 900 

 acres — it is universal. There, on the first return of fine weather, the 

 harrows are immediately passed freely over the wheat ; so freely, indeed, 

 that the whole field wears the appearance of having been newlv sown, for 

 the plants ap])ear buried under the soil thus freshly stirred, and an ample 

 top-dresbing is thereby given to the crop. The crust formed upon the 

 surface of the soil is thus broken, and the ground is rendered more per- 

 vious to the coronal root of the plants, which in a week or ten davs spread 

 and tiller with great strength. The operation is performed upon every kind 

 of soil, but of course with harrows of a weight proportionate to the 

 tenacity of the land, and not heavy enough to tear up many of the roots, 

 though if a large quantity be not destroyed it is considered immaterial ; and 

 any former who omits harrowing is thought unpardonably negligent. It 

 should be executed when the crop begins to re-vegetate ; which necessarily 

 depends on the climate and the state of the season : here it usually occurs, 

 in good soils, some time in February, and in those of a poorer kind, rather 

 later. Attention is requisite to this; for if the work be done while the plants 

 are in an inactive state, they may be rotted, and if when they are too for- 

 ward, their growth would be checked. It must also be observed, that it 

 should never be resorted to when the crop is root-fallen ; for, in that case, 

 the I'oller, and not the harrow, should be passed over the soil f. 



Light soils are, in this country, now so generally drilled for v.heat, that 

 harrowing them would be injudicious, because the imj)lement would strip 

 the land too much in some places, and in others would leave the ])lants un- 

 touched ; nor are soils of that description subject to become hide-bound, as 

 are heavy clays, and, if very light, the stirring of the earth about their roots 

 might have the effect of weakening their hold upon the ground. Land of 

 that description is, however, not uncommonly sown with clover in the 

 spring, and to the successful growth of that crop, the deposit of the seed upon 

 a fresh surface is essential. It should, therefore, be hoed, instead of 

 harrowed, and by passing the hoes carefully between the rows of the drills, 

 the earth will not be stirred about the plants so as to injure their roots. 



* Blaikie on Mildew, 2nJ Edit. p. "J. 

 f See Von Thatr, Priac. Rais. d'Agiic, 2nde Edit, torn, iv. § 978, § 1014. 



